Company fined NT$500K for maternity leave denial

The China Post news staff--The Taipei District Court (TDC) yesterday ruled for a textbook publisher to pay NT$500,000 in compensation for refusing a female employee her maternity leave.

According to the employee, the publishing company had denied her maternity leave when she was pregnant and very near her due date, forcing her to quit after she asked for several days off in order to give birth and take care of her newborn child.

Surnamed Chen, the new mother was employed at the publisher starting in 2000 and was in charge of writing and editing textbooks. Chen had continued working even when she was over eight months into her pregnancy, but when she wished to take parental leave during her ninth month, the company refused.